


We Will Always Be Family

by closemyeyesandleap



Series: Families of SHIELD [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Baby, Dad Coulson, Found Family, Gen, Motherhood, mama may, philindaisy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 08:58:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16740958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/closemyeyesandleap/pseuds/closemyeyesandleap
Summary: A nervous Daisy asks Coulson and May to be her newborn daughter's grandparents.Coulson is thrilled. May isn't so sure.





	We Will Always Be Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TomatoBookworm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoBookworm/gifts).



> For the awesome TomatoBookworm who suggested this story and provided super helpful cultural and linguistic background info! I hope I did it justice. :)  
> (Any remaining cultural/linguistic errors are, of course, my own.)

**Melinda May** : Heading over.

Why did May and Coulson always show up so early? They weren’t supposed to come till 3:00. Daisy’s eyes shifted from May’s message to the time on her phone. 2:55.

Oh.

Where had the afternoon gone? Daisy cast a defeated look around her apartment. She had brought Gabriela’s bassinet into the living room, where—thank goodness—the nearly two-week old baby had finally drifted off to sleep.

Around the sleeping infant, the apartment was a disaster. Pillows were strewn every which way, the coffee table was shoved haphazardly in a corner to allow room for the bassinet, the cord for the blinds was tangled, and a large stain marred the beige couch. Neither she nor Robbie had been able to gather enough energy to tackle it.

Even the few picture frames that they had managed to put up in the month since they moved to the apartment were knocked over.

It was as if she had lost control of her powers. 

But no, the small living space merely reflected the life of a harried new mother with a husband whose boss was forcing him to work overtime to make up for all the work he had missed in the last few months.

Work he had missed taking care of _her_ , Daisy reminded herself, guilt gnawing at her chest.

And now Robbie barely got to spend any time with his newborn daughter. 

Daisy started pulling pillows into their rightful places, trying to straighten up a little, her body aching as she moved. The pregnancy and delivery had done a number on her strength, and she had only barely begun to recover.

She headed to the kitchen and nearly tripped over the laundry hamper blocking the hallway.

The hamper was nearly overflowing with dirty laundry. Crowning the pile lay a soiled red, white, and blue Captain America onesie, a gift from Coulson.

Thirty very stressful minutes earlier, Daisy had dressed Gaby in the little outfit to surprise Coulson. Of course, five minutes later, Gaby spit up all over herself. All May and Coulson’s other gifts for the baby were still far too big, so, defeated, Daisy instead dressed Gaby in a plain green onesie.

Daisy threw the hamper into a closet. It fell down, spilling soiled clothes all over the floor, but she had no time to pick it up. She closed the door and crossed her fingers May and Coulson would have no reason to look inside.

Daisy walked into the kitchen and sighed. It was impossible. She would need a solid hour to get the kitchen anywhere near presentable, and May and Coulson only lived ten minutes away. 

Dirty Tupperware was spilling out of the sink. Bottles lay in piles all over the counters, and she felt the rough surface of the floor covered in crumbs under her socks. She and Robbie had lost their only broom in the move, and they hadn’t gotten around to buying a new one.

She barely managed to kick a few crumbs under the counter when a soft knock sounded from the front door. 

Daisy groaned. The messy apartment would have to do as is.

Daisy fiddled with her hair. With a sinking feeling, she realized she hadn’t washed it in five days.

She felt nervous, far more than she should. After all, it was just May and Coulson.

As gently as possible, Daisy collected the sleeping newborn in her arms and breathed in deeply, calmed by the slight weight of her daughter in her arms. Gaby stirred and awoke. 

The baby let out a few whimpers, and then settled back into a daze. 

Daisy pulled a wide smile onto her face before she opened the door. 

“Hey guys!” 

Coulson’s face immediately broke into a smile as he laid eyes on Gaby. May’s smile was more muted, but her expression dramatically softened as she took in the tiny infant in Daisy’s arms.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Coulson cooed. “Somebody looks sleepy! You have a good nap? Oh, look how big you’re getting already!”

Gaby blinked blearily up at Coulson and kicked in Daisy’s arms. 

Coulson pulled Daisy into a light hug, being careful not to squash the infant between them.

Afterward, May embraced Daisy as well. “You holding up OK?”

“Great!” Daisy answered cheerfully. 

“Hm. Robbie around?” 

“No, he had to work all week,” Daisy said, trying to keep her voice light.

May nodded, and Daisy had the uncomfortable sense that May knew what was lurking behind her happy face.

“Brought you some food,” May said, raising her right hand to reveal a bulging cloth grocery bag. 

Daisy paled. “Uh, thanks, May, I don’t know—”

“Don’t worry,” Coulson grinned. “It’s safe. I cooked.”

May shot a teasing glare at Coulson, a half smile playing on her lips.

Daisy blocked May when she tried to enter the kitchen to put the food away. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll put them up in a sec.” Instead, Daisy escorted Coulson and May into the living room and settled down on the couch, cradling Gaby in her arms. 

The moment Coulson joined her on the couch, he lifted the bag he was holding and grinned in excitement. “Guess what I found for you?” he whispered at Gaby. “A little something with my favorite superhero on it!”

Daisy caught May rolling her eyes from the armchair.

“Come on, Coulson,” Daisy protested. “You gave her enough Cap stuff at the baby shower to last till she graduates college.” She glanced at the closet door hiding the laundry hamper, feeling guilty.

Coulson winked as he rummaged in the bag. “Ta da!” he exclaimed, pulling out a tiny pajama set. 

Daisy almost choked. “No.”

“They’re perfect!” 

“They’re ridiculous.” Daisy examined the atrocious baby pajamas that Coulson held triumphantly before her eyes.

The outfit was bright purple, with a cartoon figure resembling Daisy emblazoned on the front, her hand raised in a gesture that looked less like a quake and more like a triumphant wave towards the baby’s armpit. 

Sparkly letters flashed the phrase _Shake Up Your World!_ above the cartoon version of Quake. 

“No way am I dressing her in that.” 

Coulson pouted. “Now don’t you worry,” he cooed at Gaby. “I’ll let you wear it when Mommy’s away fighting bad guys so that Mommy will always be with us. You’d like that, right?”

Gaby started to whimper, and moments later, her tears grew to wails. 

“Oh sweetie, it’s OK, it’s OK,” Daisy murmured, cuddling her daughter. 

“At least she has standards,” May said dryly. 

“You two are no fun,” Coulson complained. He stroked Gaby’s soft layer of dark hair. “May I?” he asked Daisy as the baby’s cries slowed.

Daisy passed the infant to Coulson. Gaby yawned as she settled deep in Coulson’s arms. 

Warmth spread across Coulson’s features as he cuddled Gaby. “Look at that,” he murmured, taking in Gaby’s tiny nose, her dark pink lips pressed together, her long eyelashes that occasionally blinked sleepily. “Oh Daisy, she’s beautiful.”

For the first time in over a week, Daisy felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

Coulson and May had met Gaby briefly at the hospital, but those days had been a blur. Every sound, every movement had been agony for her body. She had struggled enough trying to handle the assault of vibrations from her baby’s cries to really enjoy watching Gaby meet her grandparents.

 _Grandparents._ The word had passed through her mind without her intentionally thinking it. Daisy felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. What right did she have to use the word? She hadn’t even asked May and Coulson yet. Would they even say yes?

She fiddled with the string of her sweatpants, eyes low. When she looked up, she saw that May had crossed the room and was cuddling with Coulson on the couch, stroking her baby’s arms. _Don’t be stupid,_ Daisy scolded herself, _of course they’ll say yes._

But unwanted doubts continued to bubble up from deep within her, and she bit her lip. Why were the words so hard to say?

It was a simple question, yet it dragged up insecurities from that part of her soul she normally kept tucked away—memories of slammed doors, packed bags, and a drafty room full of bunk beds.

“Daisy, are you OK?” 

Daisy looked up at Coulson who was holding Gaby close to his chest, his large hand securely supporting her tiny head. Daisy hadn’t realized how long she had been quiet. 

“Yeah.” She glanced from May to Coulson and back to May, gathering courage. “I just wanted to ask you guys something.”

Coulson and May didn’t respond, looking at her expectantly. Daisy suddenly felt foolish. 

“Would you be Gaby’s grandparents?” 

There. She’d said it. Daisy blinked rapidly, unnerved by the continued silence. “I mean,” she blustered, “both Robbie and I lost our parents, so she has no one, and you guys are, I mean, for me, you two—”

“Of course, Daisy,” Coulson interjected, his voice thick. Daisy blinked. Were those tears in Coulson’s eyes? “We would be honored.”

Daisy looked at May, who nodded her agreement. 

“OK,” Daisy said softly. 

Gaby began to whimper again. “Oh, sweetheart, Grandpa’s got you, Grandpa’s got you,” Coulson murmured, rocking back and forth. As Gaby settled back to sleep, he passed her to May.

Daisy felt overwhelmed—awash in love and stress and exhaustion. She needed a moment alone. 

Her eyes settled on the bag of food that May and Coulson had brought. “I’m going to put these in the fridge before they spoil, alright?”

She carried the bag into the kitchen and started loading the refrigerator with the food that Coulson had prepared, her body feeling sluggish and heavy.

Daisy was lifting a glass container labeled _enchilada casserole_ into the fridge when a wave of vertigo washed over her. Without thinking, she stuck out her hands to balance herself and the glass casserole dish crashed to the floor, barely missing her right foot, and shattered.

A loud wail rose from the living room, Gaby screaming at the top of her tiny baby lungs. 

Her body reacted instinctively, letting out a wave of quakes that sent another few dishes flying across the counter and shattering into a thousand pieces. Clumps of tortillas were spread across the floor at Daisy’s feet, sprayed with the blazing red of the enchilada sauce like casualties of war, shards of glass everywhere. Glass clattered onto the floor from the countertops.

As the quakes died, Daisy sank against the fridge, shaking with tears.

What was she thinking? Why did she think she could do this?

Coulson rushed into the kitchen. “What happened?” He surveyed the mess on the floor, and Daisy’s sobbing form. “Hey, don’t worry about it, Daisy,” he said softly. “Robbie would’ve hated those anyway. They weren’t even close to authentic enchiladas.”

Daisy snorted through her tears. “I’m sorry,” she sniffled. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Coulson moved towards Daisy, navigating carefully around the glass. “You’re doing great. Hey,” he murmured, “let’s get you out of here.”

Daisy blinked and looked down at her socked feet. Coulson reached out, and Daisy leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her. Lifting Daisy slightly off the ground, Coulson carried her four feet to the doorway of the kitchen, away from the glass. 

Daisy could still hear Gaby whimpering behind her. Her daughter’s cries mingled with the sound of May singing softly. Daisy didn’t understand the words, but even so, a wave of emotion washed over her, and she couldn’t stop her tears. 

“Hey, it’s OK,” Coulson murmured. “I’ll clean this up. You’re doing good. You go be with your baby.”

“We d- don’t have any c- cleaning supplies. We don’t even h- have a b- b- broom,” Daisy choked, feeling like an idiot for crying over the mess in her kitchen. 

Coulson pulled his car keys from his pocket. “Just leave it, alright? I’ll be right back.” He placed his hands on Daisy’s shoulders. Leaning forward, he gently kissed Daisy on the forehead.

* * *

May barely had a moment to cuddle Gaby before she heard the resounding crash from the kitchen. The infant in her arms burst into tears. 

How could a creature so tiny could make so much noise?

A shudder ran through the floor and shook the furniture, followed by additional sounds of crashing glass. She and Phil shared a look.

“I’ll go check on her,” Phil said, and May nodded, rocking the wailing infant.

As Gaby’s cries continued, May began to sing a lullaby in Mandarin that she remembered her own grandmother singing to her. 

_Grandmother._

It felt strange, wrong even. Who was she to be a grandmother? She wasn’t Phil. She envied how quickly Phil accepted his new title. He would be a wonderful grandpa.

May looked up as she sang and saw Phil shuffling backward, his arms supporting a teary-eyed Daisy. She watched Phil whisper something to Daisy and then place a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving the apartment. 

A pang of guilt shot through her. Daisy shouldn’t feel obligated to ask her to be her baby’s grandmother just because she was Phil’s partner.

It had always been so easy for Phil to say how he felt to Daisy. His near death had made it even clearer in the letter he had left for Daisy, in which he told her how proud he was of her, that she was a daughter to him. 

May gazed down at Gaby, continuing her lullaby. The baby mewled but no longer cried. May smiled softly and stopped singing. “Go to sleep, baby,” she whispered to the little bundle in her arms in Mandarin. 

“She’s so peaceful with you.”

May jumped. Luckily, baby Gaby remained fast asleep. Daisy was watching her from the armchair, her face still blotchy from crying.

It was rare that Daisy could sneak up on her, but then again, the newborn in her arms held all of her attention.

May didn’t respond. She continued to rock Gaby, feeling increasingly uneasy. If she wanted to give Daisy an out, now was her chance.

“Look, Daisy—” she started at the same time Daisy said, “May, I—”

They blinked at each other. May nodded at Daisy, silently giving her space to speak.

Daisy bit her lip. “I know it’s a lot to ask for you to be her grandmother. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

May sucked in a breath.

“It’s just,” Daisy continued, avoiding May’s gaze, her voice still hoarse, “it’s not just about her. You… you’re the closest thing to a mom that I’ve ever had. Sure, you used to kick my ass all the time, but you’ve always had my back. There’s… there’s no one I feel safer with than you, and Robbie and I… we can’t do this alone.”

May felt her heart in her throat. “For your information, I can still kick your ass,” she retorted, trying to avoid the wave of emotion washing over her. 

Daisy chuckled, her voice thick, “It’s on… Grandma.”

“I’ll be her grandmother, but no way am I ‘Grandma’.” 

“Granny? G-ma? Gramsie-poo?”

“No,” May answered with a glare. 

“Damn, you still have that mom face down,” Daisy teased, brushing a lingering tear from her face. 

May rolled her eyes.

“What do you want her to call you, then?” Daisy asked.

May considered for a moment. “I don’t know.” She absentmindedly stroked Gaby’s tiny arm. “I’ve never thought about it. I never thought that I would be anyone’s grandmother.”

Daisy nodded. “What did you call yours?”

“My dad’s mother was NaiNai and my mom’s mother was PoPo.”

Daisy smiled. “Those are cute. Do they mean different things?

“Well, Mandarin has different words for your mother’s mother and your father’s mother.” 

Daisy furrowed her brow. “You know, I didn’t even know that. I mean, I was born in China, and still I know less than the average three-year-old.” She considered. “PoPo. I like that. How about you be Gaby’s PoPo, then?”

May shrugged. It didn’t feel quite right, using the same name she had called her own grandmother. “Maybe WaiPo instead?” she suggested.

“What does that mean?” 

“No difference,” May lied. “Maternal grandmother.”

“Oh. So why do you want to use that one instead?” Daisy asked, rubbing Gaby’s socked foot.

May glanced from Gaby to Daisy and back to the baby. “I just think it would be more appropriate.”

“Why?”

May sighed at Daisy’s insistence. “My grandmother didn’t like to use it because ‘wai’ means ‘outside’. But in this case, I think it works.”

“Wha… that’s why?” Daisy sputtered. “Is it- you don’t want to be a part of our family?”

“No, it’s just I—”

Daisy was close to tears again. “No. You know what, May? You’ve been more of a mom to me than my actual mom. Gaby deserves to have someone who will always have her back, and there’s no one I trust more than you. You… you mean a lot to me, and if you think you’re not part of this family, damn it, you’re wrong.”

May exhaled slowly. 

“Please,” Daisy begged.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say you won’t leave us,” Daisy murmured, not meeting May’s eyes. 

May swallowed. “Of course. You know that. It doesn’t matter what she calls me. I’ll always be there for her. And for you.”

Before Daisy could respond, the front door opened and Coulson burst in. “Grandpa’s back!” he declared, brandishing a broom and a bag of cleaning supplies.

Daisy bit her lip. “I know,” she whispered to May, before getting up and walking to the kitchen to help Coulson clean up the mess. May stayed behind, cuddling baby Gaby.

“Your Grandpa’s a dork. You’ll get used to it,” May murmured to the slumbering infant in her arms. “But you couldn’t ask for a better Grandpa.” She glanced at the kitchen, then back at Gaby. “And you know what? I’ll always be your PoPo.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear your thoughts :)


End file.
